Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Can You Come Up With 750 Words Each Day?

I suck at blogging on a regular basis. I am usually too busy to take the time and write about what I learned. Even more important than this, I hate realizing on most days that I have nothing new to post about. That isn't a good thing when you are supposed to be putting all of your effort into proving out and building a killer web app. I can't really post about my full time job activities due to confidentiality agreements, and I am not sure they would be interesting to most. This week I tried out a new web app called 750words. The app can be used kind of like a daily journal. It is to help people just take some time and type about anything and everything that is on their mind. Some people use it to track metadata, goals, reminders, etc. It is just a way of forming a daily writing habit. I decided my primary focus on using the app is to hold my self accountable for the goals I set for myself each day. My routine I have set up so far goes a little something like this:

1. In the morning while work email is downloading, I take 5-10 mins to talk about how I am feeling that morning. Any great ideas that came to mind over night. I also list down my goals for the day. This can be anything from tasks that I need to complete on Reading Glue, an area of my code that I need to debug, or figuring out how to spend quality time with my family for the day. In the evening or next day I summarize how may of my goals I succeeded on, or why I failed.

2. I am tracking meta data and listing when I have urges to chew. I have written about quitting before. I always end up falling back into the nasty habit. Too many times I rely on nicotine to get me through stress, which happens to be a lot of my work day. I am trying to track the time I have strong urges to chew in hopes that I can see patterns in my lifestyle that need changing. Hopefully 750 Words can help with this, along with a pack of Nicotine chewing gum...

3. I also plan on using this as a tool to look back and find the connections between the times I am happy and the times I seem down. I haven't struggled with depression in a long time, but sometimes feel like I slip into it. Much of it is seems to be brought on by work (my full time job that is), but maybe getting my thoughts out each day will help me truly track down what is the root of the problem.

So you might ask "how is it going?" Well after only a couple days it feels good. I am not sure if it is something I will be able to stick to everyday, but I think it is something worth trying. I always had the habit of reading RSS feeds in the morning. It feels good to publish my own thoughts rather than read the thoughts of others first thing in the morning. One thing I realized is 750 words is a lot more than I originally thought. It seemed like I was typing forever and I was not coming close to finishing. I am sure it will come easier as times goes along. Hell if this whole process helps keep me motivated and accountable for the goals I set for myself, then I should have a shit load of content to write about each day. Before I close out this post, I have to give a shout out to Mike McGee. He is the one that introduced me to this site, and the idea of writing every morning. The dude posted for over 1 year straight every day. Now if that is not dedication, then I don't know what is. I am not trying to break any records like that, but I am eagerly searching for ways that I can improve myself as a father, entrepreneur, and person.

About

My name is James Stubblefield, and this blog is something I am throwing together to help keep a journal of my experiences in building and launching Reading Glue. There are bound to be a lot of bumps on this road, but I am strapped in tight and ready for the rough ride.